Impossible to make a spellsword or bard in this game! : V - Skyrim

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 10:07 am

If it were me, I would have a shield on one hotkey and the spell on the other. If you are not using a shield I guess it can only be because it "doesn't look right" or something? But Beth I guess wouldn't change up the control system just for that reason. If you are playing pure mage you are going to the favorites menu every three seconds...such is life.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:12 am

uhm how about you keep your sword in your left hand and spell in your right so when you use the hotkey it un-equipes the spell. Or do you have something against the left handed people out there. I personally was thrilled when I found out you can have a sword in your left hand and either nothing/spell/shield in your right.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 4:01 am

I understand what the OP says, but... Why would you want to block when you can :flamethrower: ...?
Imho blocking is in the game for pure non-magical characters only. Anyone using magic has better ways to use the off hand.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 10:38 pm

I like to sit back and take out as many guys as I can with dual wield spells, then bring out an axe in one hand and chop/blast until I'm low on mana or the enemies start to surround me. Then I'll just drop the spell and use the axe, blocking when necessary.

I know this doesn't fix the problem in the OP, but with a little strategy you only have to use the favorites menu once or maybe twice in a large battle. I couldn't imagine constantly switching back and forth.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:54 am

One answer is to hot key a shield. I do this and it is very effective.

With that said I too am disappointed that I can't have a weapon and shield equipped and still cast a spell other than a shout. One of the things that separated TES games from other RPGs was the lack of restriction on how magic worked in the universe. You don't have armor restrictions or combat restrictions and until now there was no restriction concerning what you had in your hands when calling forth magical energy.

I can pretend that over a couple of centuries the use of magic in skyrim was severely reduced, but as my character is forced to have come from another province completely, I have a dificult time using that rationale with a breton or altmer that are so attuned to the ebb and flow of magicka in the universe. The utter lack of diversified spells only compounds this.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 5:26 am

i use paralyze in my left hand and my sword in the other. not sure what the issue is here...

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 11:53 pm

As someone whose main character is a level 70 Spellsword, I disagree with this OP.

Learn to favorites menu.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:18 am

Wow! Please explain to me how to do this, because I have been on the Internets for hours trying to figure out how. But you seem so sure of yourself. So lets hear it. How do you unequip a spell to get an empty hand?

You could just press the same button you used to assign the spell to a given hand in the first place, in the options menu. I'm not sure what the trouble is.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:49 am

uhm how about you keep your sword in your left hand and spell in your right so when you use the hotkey it un-equipes the spell. Or do you have something against the left handed people out there. I personally was thrilled when I found out you can have a sword in your left hand and either nothing/spell/shield in your right.

I feel my post addresses the OP problem perfectly and if implemented he should have no problems with his RP.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 10:37 am

The closest thing you can do is assign a hotkey favorite to a shield and equip that after casting.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 2:39 am

Riddle me this how can anyone make a spell-sword when you are completely unable to unequip spells in the off hand? I cannot drop a spell in the off hand as to use that hand to block with the one handed weapon. So unless you just don't mind running around like a moron getting stabbed and bludgeoned to because you are too stupid to use just one hand to block you might as well not even try to make a spell-sword. The limitations on blocking with just one hand is kinda dumb imo, but really that is secondary, I was willing to work within your mechanics. I understand I need an empty hand to block with one handed weapons, yet you give us no way to simply empty the hand???

I know I can go into the menus...pause the game swap some weapon in mmy left hand unpause, then pause unequip it again, then unpause...but really how much fun is this to do when you are trying to be fluid and play like a real spell sword. You removed casting with weapons, you made it impossible to block with only one hand holding a weapon, and unfortunately you made it nigh unfeasible to empty a hand as to meet your empty hand + one handed weapon requirement. I guess our only [prayer is a modder.

So you think you should be able to block a swing from somebody's weapon using just one hand? HA!

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 7:41 am

What is this about the Xbox controller not having enough buttons?!?!?!?

Bethasda should learn to radial-menu.

One radial menu can hold up to 8 easily selectable slots.
(Up, up-right, right, down-right, down, down-left, left, up-left)
A favorties menu could be made for each of the four directions on the D-pad.

THEN, using bumpers, you could switch between radial menus left and right, for a total of 3 (for easy-as-pie navigation), for a total of 24 radial-menu options.
For instance, left hand, right hand, armor. Or whatever you wanted to fill them up with.
(Spells, Weapons, armor...)

That's 96 slots total on the four directions of the D-Pad right there, each selectable within the second if you know where you placed the items.

Try finding one of 96 items alphabetically sorted in the favorites list.

Even with "merely" one radial menu on each D-pad direction, that's 24 slots right there, which is a good point to start clearing your favorites list anyway.

And obviously, each slot should allow for a specific combination:
Weapon A in right hand and spell B in left hand.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:11 am

You could just press the same button you used to assign the spell to a given hand in the first place, in the options menu. I'm not sure what the trouble is.

On PC, hitting the hotkey of a spell equipped in your left hand just equips the spell in your right hand too.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:06 am

What is this about the Xbox controller not having enough buttons?!?!?!?

Learn to radial-menu.

One radial menu can hold up to 8 easily selectable slots.
A favorties menu.

THEN, using bumpers, you could switch between radial menus left and right, for a total of 3, for a total of 24 radial-menu options.

24 options on one button, which can allow you to select whatever of 24 different options you want in one single second, because there's no scrolling in a alphabetically ordered list where you don't decide the positions of the items without lame renaming when enchanting:

"A Absorbing Deadric Sword of Flames"
"B Absorbing Daedric Axe of Paralysis"
"Ba Flaming Daedric Axe of Absorbing"
"Bc Absorbing Deadric Axe of Frost"

...

Radial-freaking-menus.

How do I set this up?

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:53 am

So you think you should be able to block a swing from somebody's weapon using just one hand? HA!

:facepalm:
This is currently how it works while only wielding a 1H weapon.

The OP's issue is being unable to unequip the spell in his Off Hand so he can Block with his Main Hand.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:57 am

Don't block.

Problem solved.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 5:03 am

Hmm ok apparently PCs do not have this functionality.

I heard on pc's it's the right click and left click. so try that.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:33 am

How do I set this up?

You can't...

But some people blame the controllers.

The controllers are not to blame, the developers are.

They could have used radial menus, but we got the favorites list instead.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:06 pm

:facepalm:
This is currently how it works while only wielding a 1H weapon.

The OP's issue is being unable to unequip the spell in his Off Hand so he can Block with his Main Hand.

He criticised the game mechanic of being unable to block using one hand on a weapon, which is stupid.

If you're only holding a one handed weapon you block using BOTH hands to brace your weapon. Try again.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:10 pm

I've read through this thread. Yes, Skyrim is a console port. They did do a lot of work to get it to run on the PC...it's not the worst port I've seen. The developers most likely "try" to do the best job they can. Sometimes they miss things...apparently they failed to provide a means to empty the left hand.

Now that I've said that...if you want to block then isn't block better with a shield?

Something else that is nagging at me is that skyrim is very open to a character that can max out with both weapon skills and mage skills. Classic RPG limits them i.e. if you get some magic skills above a certain point then it limits the type of weapon you can wield until as a 100 skill mage you can only wield a dagger. Also, if you have one-handed weapon skill of 100 then all you can use are novice level spells. What I'm saying is that RPGs in general aren't designed for a character to be both a mage and warrior. Skyrim is allowing it, but you will have to expect some problems.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 8:42 pm

I can specify too, but its meaning less. I have oakflesh assigned as hotkey 4 (lefthand) and iron sword as hotkey 1 (right hand). I have just my sword out (right hand) I press 4, oakflesh goes to my left hand. Ok pray tell how do I get rid of oakflesh with hotkeys? How can I just drop it? You cant. If you press 4 again it will simply move oakflesh to the right hand too. The left and right deliminators dont help at all.

I have to pause the came and manually fiddle with it every time.

I understand your problem. The easiest way to do it without having to pull up the favorites menu is to waste a hotkey slot on something like a dagger, which you will have to carry around. If you equip the dagger in your offhand initially and then in combat you can hit that hotkey twice quickly and it will equip and unequip the dagger quickly leaving you with an open hand. Its a bit of a delay but at least you don't have to pause the game for a menu switch.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 2:39 am

He criticised the game mechanic of being unable to block using one hand on a weapon, which is stupid.

If you're only holding a one handed weapon you block using BOTH hands to brace your weapon. Try again.

Right, which is why he is trying to unequip the spell in his off hand. Nothing in off hand = block with 1H weapon (using both hands).

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 7:59 am

So...you can't play a bard or spellsword because the interface is clunky? Really? Pausing the game to use the interface, a feature in ALL TES games and most RPG's on the market, is just too much for you to handle?

Gee, don't know what to tell ya. Maybe uninstall and go play something else at this point. If it's so bad you're freaking out on the internet over it, this must not be the game for you.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:23 pm

gonna have to go test this stuff out. see if I can figure out a way to do what you want. bbl.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:01 pm

Or, you could assign your spell of choice to one of the two hotkeys, and press that every time you want to equip/unequip the spell.

How do you do this on PC? - Either something is hotkeyed or it isn't. Spells default to the offhand, pressing the hotkey again equips a second copy to your mainhand. no amount of hotkey pressed will UNequip a spell